The Lost Tiger and the Scarlet Flower
by ScarletEucliffe
Summary: Flowers are so short-lived. Yes, especially scarlet flowers. They come to comfort your troubled soul for a while but in a blink of an eye, they wither away silently without a trace. Leaving a lost tiger behind. StingxErzaxRogue


**A/N: Hey guys. Well, I'm a huge fan of StingxErza so here's another fic. Please tell me what you think about it. Thanks. xDDDD**

***Sting and Erza are best friends in this fic so it's not really unusual for them to let their guard down when their together.**

* * *

"Damn it! Damn it! Damn it!" Sting punched the cold hard ground beneath him. The soft shower that was slowly falling down on him like shining drops of tears made it even worse.

"I'm such a fool. I'm such a fool." He kept repeating to himself like a broken record player trapped in an unending loop. He grasped the thin cloth of his shirt that was covering his trembling body. For the first time in his life, he felt this increasingly heavy sensation that was slowly crushing his heart, making its way towards his very being. It felt so foreign to him that he was so sure that he'll lose his sanity any moment now.

Yes. The high and mighty white dragon slayer of Sabertooth was feeling pain and despair. Not the kind of pain he feels whenever he's wounded in battle or whenever he loses a match. Oh no. The pain he was feeling right now was more than that. With his strength and power as a Dragon Slayer, wounds and injuries ranging from a minor cut to a fractured bone were just a piece of cake. They were not enough to bring one of Sabertooth's strongest fighters on his knees and make his body shake in distress. In fact, being the kind of sadistic guy he is who loves fighting above anybody else, pain can be equaled to pleasure. The wide grin on his face, the spark in his eyes and the battle scars on his body was enough of a proof. Pain is Sting's best friend. And it really was a wonder to him how pain was taking him down right now.

"It hurts. Why does it hurt like this?" He silently whispered to himself as he struggled to get on his feet.

* * *

_An hour ago…_

"Hey Sting! Looking good aren't we? Oh? Are those flowers? Heeeee? Now, doesn't this look a bit suspicious?" Gajeel waved his hand towards the blonde boy.

"Ahh, this?" Sting replied, slightly raising his hand which tightly held a bouquet of beautiful scarlet flowers. "I'm just going to give this to a friend." He laughed nervously, afraid that the black-haired Dragon Slayer might get a hint regarding the identity of the flower's recipient.

"Friend huh? Well then, why don't say hi to her for me?" Gajeel said with a stupid smirk on his face.

"Wha..? How did you know that it was a _her_ Gajeel-san?" Sting's expression suddenly turned a bit darker after hearing the Iron Dragon Slayer's words. Cold sweat slowly run down his face as he tried to analyze if there are any hidden meanings from those words.

Gajeel let out a big sigh and scratched the back of his head. "What are you talking about Sting? Obviously, it should be a _her_. Or are you telling me that you're actually going to give those flowers to a guy?"

In an instant, Sting's face suddenly turned red with embarrassment at the awkwardness of the situation. He mentally slapped himself as he tried to pull his drifting thoughts together.

"Ahh. That's right. I'm sorry Gajeel-san." He gave out a soft but manly giggle indicating that he realized how stupid he was acting.

"Seriously. You really are one hell of a love-crazed boy. I guess it's true after all. Anyone who gets hit by that stupid kid's arrow transforms into an entirely different person opposite to how they were before. Look at yourself in the mirror man. You're acting exactly like a certain pink-haired idiot."

Gajeel gave Sting a thumbs up and turned around and walked in the opposite direction without even bothering to tell Sting that he was going.

_"You just don't how much it changed me Gajeel-san."_ Sting thought to himself as he watched the former ace of Phantom Lord enter into a machine shop at the other side of the street. He looked at the flowers in his hand and felt surprisingly light-hearted as he once again repeated the lines he had memorized the night before. As he walked, he couldn't stop smiling that almost everyone who passed by him thought that he had a screw loose. But Sting didn't give a damn care about the glances that was being shot at him. Today was definitely a big day and he wouldn't let anything destroy his mood. Finally, he can let it all out. Let out the pent-up feelings he was keeping trapped in his chest. At first, he wasn't exactly sure what those feelings are or what they meant to him but after giving it some thought and testing them out, he was now sure of what it is that he wanted to do, what it is that he wanted to have.

Passing by a hostess bar, Sting was greeted by a seductive soft voice.

"Oh, Sting-sama! It's still this early in the morning and you're already here? Plus you brought some flowers! What are you up to, huh?" A voluptuous and gravely attractive lady wearing a bit fewer cloths than what was expected of a typical girl of that time suddenly walked towards him with those same eyes which made Sting's blood boil night after night.

"No, this is…" Before Sting could even finish his sentence, two soft and warm hands slid across his chest. The intensity of the touch made Sting's body tremble as he felt his insides going wild like a saber-tooth feline freed from its cage. The lady licked her lips seductively as she looked at Sting with begging eyes.

_"Oh shit. Dammit. No Sting. No. You promise to cut all of your ties with her. With them. You promise to stop. Behave yourself man!" _Sting shouted at himself mentally as he felt his self-control falter by the second. This really doesn't look to good for him. He blamed himself for not taking another route. He could have avoided this damned encounter if he had taken another way around.

"What's the matter Sting-sama? Don't you want me? Did you come here for somebody else then?" She purred and her eyes suddenly welled up with tears. She gently slid his hand over Sting's muscular arm and held his hand. Not yet satisfied with her act, she slowly raised Sting's hand in front of her face and without warning she placed his index finger insider her mouth and played with it expertly using her tongue. That very act caught Sting off-guard and she definitely knows it. She has done this stuff with him before and she knew pretty well that the blonde guy in front of her finds her to be very irresistible. She pressed herself much harder against him with the intention to let the heavily-breathing Dragon Slayer feel her huge round breasts which she knew was one of the major reasons why he decided to hook up with her. They stayed like that for a while when she suddenly felt something hard poking against her toned stomach. A victorious smirk then left her lips.

_"You will never be able to resist me Sting Eucliffe."_ She cheerfully thought, fully preparing herself for what was to happen, or so she thought.

Sting on the other hand was paralyzed by the actions of the hot blonde babe seductively wanting to be laid by him at that very moment. He cursed himself for being this weak and easily tempted but he can't blame himself either. She was a girl with a body that any guy would die for. In fact, it was not an exaggeration to say that she was the most-sought woman in Fiore. Hot and sexy are not even enough to define her. She was definitely more than that.

_"Resist Sting. Resist. Control yourself. Shouldn't you be doing something more important right now? Come on man!" _

Despite mentally killing himself for wasting time, Sting's body felt otherwise. No matter what he says to himself, no matter how hard he tries, it was clear that he had the unnerving urge to pounce on her, strip off her clothes and savagely thrust himself inside of her. He wanted her. He wanted her bad. He wanted to once again hear her moan his name loudly in pleasure. He wanted to once again feel her hands pull his hair as their bodies rocked in harmony. He wanted to once again leave red blotches all over her body. He wanted to once again race his hand all over her fragile form. She was that tempting, so alluring. And it felt like he wanted to once again go crazy over her and lust for her day by day. Yes. The funny feeling in his pants certainly agrees.

He was about to give up and give in to his thirst when he happened to glance and saw the scarlet flowers he was holding in his hands. Images of a scarlet-haired girl suddenly flashed in his mind and filled his thoughts.

_"That's right. What the hell am I doing? Wasn't I supposed to be with her right now?" _

Feeling a new sense of determination and purpose building up inside of him to stay true to his words, Sting tried his best to suppress the feelings that was slowly making him turn back, unable to move forward. After going this far, he didn't want to return to his old self anymore. He wanted to change for _her. _ He wanted to become a better person for _her. _He wanted _her _to be proud of him. Yes. That's what he wanted all along. The emptiness he was feeling inside was not remedied by him chasing after girls or drowning in alcohol. Nor was it filled by randomly doing whatever he wants without any care in the world. But it was filled when he suddenly opened his eyes and realized that there was someone beside him. That_ she_ was beside him. It had been _someone _who was near him all the time, yet he only noticed it recently. And he didn't want to let it go. He didn't want to lose it anymore.

"I'm sorry but…" Sting gently removed the lady's hand on his body and distanced himself from her. He looked at her with apologetic eyes. "But it's all over between us. I don't want to see you anymore, so please, forget about me too."

Without even waiting for a response, he ran away as fast as he can from her with downcast eyes without daring to look back. He knew that one look at her would send him running back and burying her in his tight embrace. Despite the fact that they were together only for sex, he can't deny the fact that she was important to him. But that's all there is to it. It certainly wasn't love. He lusts for her body and that's all. It wasn't enough to fill the emptiness and longing inside of him.

As Sting was pondering on what had just happened, his eyes spotted a familiar looking house and it made his heart beat like a horse on a race. Instantly, he had forgotten about the dilemma that was troubling him a few minutes ago as the uneasy curve of his lips gradually turned to sincere smile.

He made it. He's now here. At the very place where it will all begin. The place where he can start anew. The place where he can finally find true contentment and joy. Yes. The place where he will let it all out.

He pressed the doorbell twice as he restlessly waited for _her _to open the door.

"Oh? Isn't this quite a surprise? I didn't expect you to come here. Let me guess, you have some problems with your girlfriends again and you're running to me for advice, aren't you?" A scarlet-haired woman opened the door to him with a grimaced. She rolled her eyes as he welcomed him in.

Ouch. Now that hit a nerve and Sting felt it. But he can't blame her for acting like that. After all, it was truth.

"You're so mean don't you know that? And whatever do you mean by girlfriends, huh?" Sting tried to make his voice sound brighter as he went inside.

"Oh, stop it Sting. You only remember me when you have problems with your girls. You don't even bother to call me during those times when you're happily drowning yourself in your girlfriends' arms. Well, not that I care. As far as I know, I'm just your best friend." She crossed her arms as she eyed his unexpected guest carefully who was slowly making his way to the couch.

Sting sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose. Despite his calm and collected composure, he was painfully bleeding inside. Her words just cut his heart into two, but he knew that he deserved it. Acceptance was the first step towards thoroughly seeing himself in a new light after all.

_"That's exactly why I came here. To let you know that you're more than just a best friend." _He thought to himself as he tried to come up of something to say to her.

"Tsk. What's with the serious atmosphere? I'm just joking, you fool." She chuckled softly and smiled which almost melted Sting's heart. Sting looked at her intently and observed her perfect features. The sincerity of her eyes. The brilliance of her scarlet hair. The curve of her lips. Yes, those lips which he had always to wanted to feel against his. Oh, how much he wanted to wrapped his hands around her right now and whisper sweet nothings to her ears.

It's really different when he's with her. It feels as if the sun has finally shown in his gray and cramped-up world. It felt as if hundred of butterflies are wildly fluttering in his stomach. It feels as if he just found the long-lost half of himself, making him whole. And it made him smile stupidly like an idiot. Something that he wouldn't ever expect to see himself do. Maybe Gajeel was right all along. That people do get stupid when they fall in love.

He took a deep breath and smiled as he stood up and walked towards her. Shoving the bouquet in front of her face, he grabbed her hand and gently planted a kiss on it. "Scarlet flowers for a beautiful scarlet-haired girl."

Erza, quite surprised at Sting's action suddenly felt her face getting hotter and redder. "What are you talking about, you idiot?" She removed her hand from Sting's hold and chuckled gently. "But thanks for the flowers. They're beautiful." She looked at him once more and smiled cheerfully like a child receiving candy for the first time.

_"Dammit. Kill me now. I must be in heaven."_ Sting thought to himself as he felt a ticklish sensation as if he's on cloud nine right now floating in the sky.

"So, why are you here again?" She went towards the window and placed the flowers in what Sting thought was a big vase.

"I wanted to tell you something." He grinned.

_"This is it. This is my chance. It's here. Finally it's here. I can do this. I'm gonna confess and tell her everything."_

"Oh? What a coincidence. I wanted to tell you something too." Erza said while cupping her face with her hands. Sting could notice that she was maniacally smiling like a love-crazed girl.

_"Could it be? Could it be that she's going to confess to me as well?"_ A thought suddenly came to Sting as thunder and lightning struck him inside his own metal confines. His eyes followed Erza as she climbed up the stairs to get something. _"Luck is really smiling down on me, huh? Oh wait, I gotta practice first." _ He stood up and went in front of the huge mirror near the couch. He made an act of fixing himself up despite that it didn't really change much of his appearance. _"Do I look okay? Is my hair fine? What about my clothes?" _ He proceeded to look at himself in the mirror in different angles. _"Okay, so first I gotta be calm and tell her how I feel about being her best friend, how thankful I am about having her in my life, then I'll discuss the events that had led me to realize that I actually love her, then I'll ask her if she feels the same. Calm down Sting. Calm down. You can do this. You're just going to confess to her. She might be Erza Scarlet but she's still a woman. You can do this. This is the first step to setting things right in your life. You can do this."_

With one big exhale of air, Sting gently hit his cheeks with his palms to focus himself as he heard Erza coming downstairs.

"Did I make you wait?" Erza cheerfully called out as she held a white scented paper in her hands.

"No, it's fine." Sting replied.

"So, what is it that you want to tell me Sting?"

"You go first Erza. It's fine. Ladies first, right?" Sting made a futile attempt of bowing like a gentlemen which Erza found to be quite hilarious. She laughed gently as she punched him in the arm.

"I wonder why but you look so happy today." Sting remarked.

"Of course!" Erza yelled as he handed the paper to Sting.

"Now what could this be, huh?" Feeling excited of what love notes he might read, Sting wasted no time as he opened the letter and read its contents.

But what he saw inside was not what he had expected. Shock filled his eyes as he once again read the words printed on the paper, not believing the turn of events.

"Rogue and I are getting married and we want you to become our best man." Erza said cheerfully, oblivious to what Sting was really feeling at the moment.

_"WHAT THE HELL IS THIS? WHY IS THE GIRL I LOVE GETTING MARRIED TO MY CHILDHOOD BESTFRIEND?"_

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**PS. I am thinking of rewriting my other fic "When a Tiger Loses His Fairy". xDDDD Anyway, I really hope you leave me with reviews, faves and follows and let me know if this story is worth continuing. Thanks again. xDDD StiZa forever, or whatever you call their pairing. xDDDD**


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